Kaiba Cat
by Tie-dyed Trickster
Summary: A sudden rainstorm plus a chance encounter plus an old bracelet with one wish left in it plus a careless sentence equal catastrophic results for Kaiba! rated so I can do a little cursing. I LOVE reviews, btw...
1. It's the rain's fault

Haha! Yes! I've been trying to upload this thing for freakin' AGES! At least since Saturday! was not being helpful.

Note:Hi! Wow, I'm actually going to have THREE stories on this site! And two of them are going to be multiple chapters! WOW! And to think I originally signed up just so I could review Agent Malkere's stuff! This is so COOL!

(Ahem) Anyway, this is an idea I got – last night, the night before? Whatever – and just had to start writing. It was inspired by another story, one where Tea gets turned into a cat, and, before I was sure it was Tea being transformed (my friend was reading it to me and didn't say who got changed ahead of time), I thought it might be Kaiba being changed. Then I realized, no, the story is from Tea's POV, so it can't be Kaiba. Then I thought, Ohmygosh, but it would be _so freaking hilarious_ if it _was_ Kaiba who got changed! And, well… this is the result. Enjoy. (I'll know you're enjoying it if you review this story and tell me so. Please review. Flames are not reviews. Please do not flame me.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. I do not own these characters. I do not have the power to shapeshift. These sad facts bring me much pain and sorrow. : (

It was raining outside. Later, when everything had been sorted out, it was the rain that everyone often blamed. Especially Kaiba. If it hadn't been raining, he wouldn't have needed to find somewhere to wait it out, and if he hadn't needed somewhere to wait it out, then- (one of the writer's muses steps up and whacks her sharply on the head, snarling 'get a move on!')

But maybe I should get on with the story.

Kaiba was not happy. He had decided to walk to the park; it was a few weeks before summer vacation, the day was the nice, pleasant kind that inspires poets to write, children to play, and young males of the humanoid variety to lock themselves in dark rooms with cans of soda, the better to meld with their video-games.

Things were going smoothly in the office, and it would be pleasant to get outside for a bit. Besides, Mokuba had been doing a health project on the important vitamins the body gets from the sun for school recently, and ever since then had been worrying that his big brother wasn't getting enough sunlight. The walk would probably get him off Kaiba's case for a little bit.

However, life has a certain fondness of throwing monkey wrenches into plans, and it had started to rain as he strode to the park. Normally this wouldn't bother Seto, but this wasn't a light rain, of the sort that inspires some people to go out dancing and singing; 'monsoon' would be a better descriptive. And the only place near enough for him to reach before he got so wet it wouldn't matter anymore was… Yugi's Grandpa's Game Shop. Great.

"I think Tea would be a… would be a brolga!" Serenity announced. She was staying with Joey for the summer, and had arrived early, and the two of them, along with Tristan, Mokuba, and, of course, Tea, had been helping Yugi and his Grandpa go through old stock at the games shop when the rain had started. They were taking a break, when Tristan had made some comment about dogs of mixed heritage in connotation to Joey, who had promptly blown a fuse.

"Alright, I've had enough of the stupid mutt comments!" he'd yelled, "I'm not a dog! I'm not even _like_ a dog!"

To which Tristan had asked what he was, then, if he wasn't a dog. One thing had led to another, and now they were sitting around the front of the game shop trying to figure out which animal each of them most resembled (as in, similar attributes, not physical features).

"What's a brolga, Serenity?" Yugi asked, puzzled.

"They're a kind of bird in Australia," Serenity explained, shyly, "There's a story that the first brolga was originally a girl who loved to dance. An evil magician turned her into a bird because she refused to marry him. But even as a bird, she still danced." She blushed, "Tea makes me think of that story. She doesn't let difficulties get in her way, and she loves dancing."

"That's neat!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Did she ever get changed back?"

"I don't think so, otherwise there wouldn't be any brolgas." Serenity shrugged, and toyed with an old bracelet on her wrist.

Seeing the bracelet reminded Joey of something. "Hey, Serenity, have you decided on your wish, yet?" She shook her head.

"What wish?" Yugi asked.

Serenity blushed again. "Joey and I were in a flea market yesterday and I got this bracelet there. The lady at the stall I got it from said it was a wishing bracelet, but that there was only one wish left in it, so I should be careful how I used it. I still haven't decided what to wish for, yet."

"Maybe we could help you think of something." Yugi suggested.

At that moment, the door to the shop opened and Kaiba came in.

"Big brother!" Mokuba ran over and hugged him. "What're you doing here?"

"I was going on a walk to get some sun, like you keep telling me to," Kaiba explained, then gestured at the rain outside. "This was the only shelter available when the storm hit." He had seen Yugi and his friends were there when he entered his shop, to his annoyance, but, as he couldn't do anything about the situation, he ignored them, and continued talking with Mokuba.

"Aw, great, it's Kaiba!" Joey groaned. "Of all the people who could've shown up, it had to be him!"

Tea swatted him. "He hasn't done anything to you, lately, so don't provoke him!"

"Alright, alright, geez…" Joey muttered, inching closer to Serenity, then whispering, "That guy drives me crazy! He's like some spoiled cat who's got everything the way he wants it!"

Serenity giggled. "It would be funny to see Kaiba as a cat! I bet he'd be really good at being a cat! It would probably make him less tense, too. I wish I could see that…" she smiled cheerfully.

Joey was about to comment when Mokuba let out a yelp of surprise. Turning, he saw that everyone was staring at Mokuba, who was holding a small white cat. Kaiba was no where to be seen. Everyone, including the cat, had a slightly dazed look on their face.

"Where'd Kaiba go, Mokuba?" Joey asked. "I didn't hear him leave."

"That's because I _didn't_ leave, mutt." Growled the cat.

Joey's jaw dropped.

Yugi, meanwhile, needed to talk to the Pharaoh briefly. _"I know this isn't a duel or anything, but would you mind taking over for a moment?"_

"_Of course, Yugi,"_ his friend answered silently.

"_Thanks!"_ Yugi was suddenly standing beside the Pharaoh, in spirit form. He made absolutely sure of that before he allowed himself to start laughing. He doubled over, and in a moment was lying on the floor, he was laughing so hard.

The cat, who was apparently Kaiba, jumped out of Mokuba's arms and stalked over to glare at Yugi. "You know, I can still see you." He growled.

Yugi tried to stifle his mirth, but couldn't refrain from giggling quietly. He wiped his eyes and sat up. _"Sorry! I was trying not to offend you… but you just looked so shocked and everything…"_

Kaiba turned up his nose and stalked over to Joey, who was also on the floor laughing by this point.

"Kaiba's a _cat_!" he howled, "Serenity, you've turned _Kaiba_, _the_ Seto Kaiba, into a _cat_! This is great! This is hilarious! This is-"

No one ever found out what else it was, because Kaiba chose that moment to scratch Joey's face – hard.

"YE-OUCH!" Joey stopped laughing and sat up, clutching his cut cheek. "That hurt!"

"Good."

Ta-_da_!!! I'll write some more at some point (no guarantees as to when this will be). But I do have some really funny ideas for future chapters! Oh, and the brolga story is based on an actual story of the Aborigines in Australia. You can look it up online, but I've probably spelt brolga wrong, so be warned, it might take awhile! Remember, flames are bad. Reviews are good! Mesa _liiiiiike_ reviews. (Inane and dreamy grin.) Ooo! I know! (Goes to drawer in desk. Pulls out pocket watch on a chain. Starts waving it slowly back and forth in front of computer screen) You are getting sleeeeeepy. Veeeeeery sleeeeeepy. Your eyes are clooooosing. You enjooooooy reviewing faaaaaanfiiiiic. You loooooove reviewing faaaanfiiiiiic. When I clap my hands, you will wake up! (Claps hands. Hides pocket watch behind back.) That's all for now! Please review! I'd write some more right now, but for some reason I have this overwhelming desire to go read and review fanfics. I really _love_ reviewing fanfics!


	2. A hasty exit

Note: Hi, everyone! Here it is! Chapter two! The long-awaited chapter! I'm starting this chapter a few paragraphs before the end of the last chapter, only from Kaiba's perspective, 'cause we _all_ wanna know what _he_ thinks of this situation! (pause) I feel like this should be longer; I usually write epic author's notes… but I got nuthin'.

Disclaimer: Mesa nosa own Yugioh. Or any of the characters. T.T But my mom got me a Yugioh balloon! I _do_ have that! (smiles at balloon.) _Hiya, Pharaoh!_

Kaiba had been assuring Mokuba that he would go outside and get some more sun as soon as the rain stopped when it happened. One minute he was looking down at his little brother, who had his arms wrapped around Kaiba's waist, the next, while his little brother was still hugging him, but he was looking _up_ at Mokuba, and feeling a bit dizzy.

A normal person would have started asking themselves questions of the 'what just happened to me, what's going on around here, why is everything enormous and in black and white' variety, but, as I'm sure we all know by now, Kaiba is anything _but_ a normal person. For example, most 15-year-old boys do not forcibly take over their stepfather's companies. Kaiba was smart. He had assessed the situation within moments and come to the conclusions that he was not asleep and was not a human anymore. Therefore, first questions he asked himself were as follows: _"How am I supposed to work like this? And, for that matter, how am I supposed to take my finals?"_

At that moment, he became aware that everyone was staring at him. Then Yugi started to crack up. This mildly surprised him, for, much as he disliked the guy, Yugi had always taken great pains to be polite to him. Jumping down from Mokuba's arms, he padded over to where the short boy was rolling around laughing. On the way he noticed that the youth was translucent, not to mention the fact that he was _lying next to himself_! That set Kaiba back for a moment, 'til he remembered all the stuff the group had always said about the 'spirit of the puzzle' and 'the pharaoh' and all that. Apparently there was some truth to it after all, or else how could Yugi be in two places at once?

He stalked closer to the laughing youth. "You know, I can still see you."

Yugi made a visible effort to control himself, but he was laughing too hard. _"Sorry! I was trying not to offend you… but you just looked so shocked and everything…"_

Well, at least he'd apologized. Kaiba turned to face Joey, who was also rolling on the ground laughing at this point.

"Kaiba's a _cat_!" he howled, "Serenity, you've turned _Kaiba_, _the_ Seto Kaiba, into a _cat_! This is great! This is hilarious! This is-"

Deciding enough was enough, Kaiba opted to put his new claws into use and gave Joey a swipe on the face.

"YE-OUCH!" Joey stopped laughing and sat up, clutching his cut cheek. "That hurt!" he glared at Kaiba.

Kaiba glared back. "Good." The mutt dealt with, he turned to face Serenity. "What did Wheeler mean when he said you'd changed me into a cat?"

Serenity was blushing furiously. "I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry! I got a wishing bracelet yesterday, and it was supposed to grant me one wish and I was still trying to decide how to use it! We were talking about what kind of animals each of us would be if we were animals, earlier, and then you came in, and Joey mentioned that you looked like a cat, and I thought you'd be a good cat, and said I wished I could see that without thinking! This is all my fault! I'm so _sorry_!"

Without any warning Serenity scooped Kaiba up in her arms and began to sob into his fur, clutching him to her chest. A look of mild discomfort and panic arose on Kaiba's face. There was an awkward moment.

"So, how do we change him back?" Mokuba broke the silence.

"Uhhh…" Yami and Yugi both shrugged, though Mokuba, not being endowed with the inborn ability of all cats to see spirits and such, only saw Yami.

"In fairy tales it usually takes a kiss." Tea suggested. "That might work."

Serenity nodded and planted a kiss between Kaiba's ears. Nothing happened. Well, actually, Kaiba got a kind of dopey grin on his face for a moment, before he got his face back under control, but nothing of the wish-undoing-returning-Kaiba-to-human-form happened.

"Okay, now what do we do?" Mokuba asked.

"Well, since it was Serenity's wish that did this, he should probably stay near her," Yami stated, "Just in case it's some action of hers that will undo this magic."

"Um…" Mokuba scuffed a foot against the floor, "Big brother?"

"Yes?"

"Should I tell Noa?"

The door of the shop opened at that moment, and a young girl came in, slowly. The group stared at her. She looked around shyly, then her gaze found Kaiba.

"Awww, you got a _kitty_!" she was in front of Kaiba in a heartbeat, "Ohhh, it's so _pretty_! All sleek and white, with those big blue eyes! Oh! No, not all white…" she was looking at his chest, "He's got a patch of brown and black fur on his chest! Aw, it looks just like the back of a Duel Monsters card! I bet that's why you're in this game shop, isn't it, Mr. Kitty?"

Kaiba stared at her. "Are you out of your mind, kid?"

She giggled, "Meow meow to you too, Mr. Kitty!" She looked up at Yugi and smiled, her shyness forgotten, "My big sister sent me here to get some booster packs! Have you got any of the new ones?"

Yugi was back in control of his body in a flash. "Yes, we do! How many would you like?"

"Three, please!"

The group forced themselves to act casual, as if nothing strange was going on, while the girl selected her packs and paid for them. Before she left, she knelt in front of Kaiba again. Kaiba, being the smart fellow he was, backed away quickly. "Bye-bye, Mr. Kitty!" she chirped, then paused, "What's his name?"

There was a pause for a moment, then Joey jumped in, "That? Oh, that's Duel Monster! He's my sister's cat! She loves him so much, takes him with her everywhere! Oh, lookit that! The rain has stopped! Well, we'd better run, I got a paper to write! Come on, Mokuba, we'll walk you home! Serenity, could you grab Duel Monster? I'll call you to talk about that, uh… thing we were talking about later, Yug! Bye!" With that, he hustled Mokuba and Serenity, who had picked up 'Duel Monster', out the door.

"'_Duel Monster'_?!?_ What _was _that_ all about?" Kaiba hissed as the group hurried down the street.

"Geez, ain't it obvious?" Joey rubbed his forehead, "You might not like it, but Gramps's game shop is pretty popular, especially on Saturdays! With the rain stopped, it would have gotten crowded in there pretty fast. Or did you want to permanently become the 'game shop cat'? I ain't as stupid as people think I am, and I didn't think that would appeal to you too highly, rich boy."

Kaiba glowered. The mutt was right. He didn't like to admit it, but he supposed he should be grateful. "Thanks." He growled. "But _Duel Monster_? What kind of a name is that?"

"The split-second, 'Aw, crap, think, Wheeler, think!' kind." Despite his calmish exterior, Joey was doing victory dances inside his head. _Rich boy had thanked him for something!_ An admission that even the high-and-mighty Kaiba needed help sometimes! "Anyway, I heard Mokuba mention Noa back there. What's with that? I thought Noa got erased or deleted or something when that computer-thing blew up!"

"Nope!" Mokuba beamed, "He managed to get out in time! He's on the web!"

"He's not still trying to take over Kaiba Corp, is he?" Joey asked.

"Nope."

"The world?"

"Uh-uh! He's a lot happier now that he can interact with other people – he's got a bunch of e-pals and a blog. Actually, most people think the blog is a story he's making up, but he enjoys it. And he's helping Seto, too!"

"What!" Joey stopped dead. "I thought those two hated each other's guts!"

"I am right here, you know." Kaiba growled from Serenity's arms. Joey ignored him.

"It was my idea!" Mokuba grinned, "Noa works on the online security for Kaiba Corp and helps find glitches and stuff in the virtual worlds and games and everything that Seto makes! He's really good at it, since he's already in the system, so to speak! And if someone tries to hack our computers, Noa stops them and then hacks _them_! It's _great_!"

"If you say so." Joey looked unconvinced.

"Honest! He's really helpful! Plus, this way Seto has a bit less work to do, and Noa doesn't have Seto trying to delete him all the time!" Mokuba bounced along. "I go and visit him in the virtual games, sometimes. It's lots of fun!"

They walked in silence for a moment.

"So, should I tell Noa about this?" Mokuba finally asked Kaiba. "And what are you going to do about school?

"I guess you'll have to tell him." Kaiba admitted, reluctantly. "No, on second thought, _I'll_ tell him. And you'll have to call me in sick for school. Say I have the flu or something. Where are we going, anyway?" Kaiba hadn't been really paying attention to their surroundings.

"I'm dropping you and Serenity at home, then I'll take Mokuba back to you're place. Oh, and, as a cat," Joey smirked, "You don't get a say in the matter. Besides, the Pharaoh said you two should stick together." Joey paused for a moment, thinking, "You gonna be okay on your own, Mokuba? You can hang out at my place until we figure out what to do with kitty over there, if you'd rather."

"I'll be okay." Mokuba smiled. "I'll talk with Noa, and see if he'll look on the web for anything that might help Seto, and I'll check the library."

With this decided, Kaiba sulked the rest of the way to the Wheeler residence, or, as Kaiba thought of it, the mutt's doghouse. (a/n yeah, I know it's not original! Deal w/ it!) When they reached Joey's place, Mokuba took Kaiba from Serenity and gave him a hug.

"Be careful, big brother!" he whispered, "I'll start looking for information as soon as I get home!"

Kaiba tried to hug Mokuba back, but cats aren't really designed for hugging people, so he rubbed his head against his little brother's shoulder in stead (it felt almost spookily natural to do so) "You take care of yourself too, kiddo. That does _not_ mean 'eat only sugar-based substances", by the way. I remember that last incident, from when I went to Hessen!" (a/n which is in Germany)

"I won't, nii sama." Mokuba scratched Kaiba's ears, then handed him back to Serenity and went to join Joey, who was waiting for him on the sidewalk, pretending like crazy not to notice the two brothers exchanging good-byes. (He _can_ be sensitive at times.) The two guys began to walk off.

When they were about halfway down the street, Kaiba remembered something. "AND DON'T LET NOA TELL YOU GHOST STORIES ALL NIGHT, OR AT ALL, FOR THAT MATTER!" he yowled.

"I WON'T!"

Ta-DA! There it is! Chapter two! (Does a couple of cartwheels, for the heck of it. Gets picked up by two muses and forcibly carried back to her chair.) Hey! I was gonna come back on my own! (sulks. Gets swatted.) Okay, okay! Grief, you guys are so BOSSY! (Warning to readers: Don't ever let your muses incarnate. They'll start thinking that JUST because they have absolute power over the controls to your creativity, they have the right to tell you what to do!) Anyway, I hope you like it! (_I _like it!) But how will I know if you like it? Hmmm… (thinks… jumps up with inspired expression) I know! You could _review_! Then I would know what you think of my story! Please do! Until next chapter, this is (dramatic pause) Tie-dyed Trickster, signing off! !

P.S.

Review nosa flame. Flames aren't reviews. Suggestions are fine. Adoration is openly welcomed. Reviews _will_ be responded to. Flames are not reviews. Please, no flames! !


	3. Welcome to the Wheeler Home!

Note: Wow! This thing is actually POPULAR! (stares at computer with slack jaw. Snaps out of it just before one of her muses decides to take action) This chapter doesn't have a huge amount of action, but I've put in some funny bits I thought up before I was even able to decide how to BEGIN this thing! And they're funny! (at least, my muses say they are. If you disagree, you'll have to review to let me know. If you DO agree… well, you'll still have to review to let me know, but there's a high chance I'll write back in gratitude!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own a very pretty green rock that is sitting next to my computer and ticking in a very soothing manner…

Serenity picked Kaiba up (he'd jumped out of her arms to yell at Mokuba), and walked towards Joey's place, a narrow townhouse. Shifting him so she could hold him with one arm, Serenity pulled out her key, unlocked the door, and went in, locking the door behind her.

Kaiba looked around. The place was surprisingly tidy, considering how the mutt seemed to be in a perpetual state of disarray at school. But the house was really quite organized. Sure, there were a couple pairs of shoes tossed haphazardly into the corner of the hall by what Kaiba assumed was the hall closet, and the tables had small piles of assorted stuff on them, but the floor was clean and there wasn't a lot of dust on the furniture. This was not what he would have expected the mutt's house to look like, if he ever thought about that sort of thing.

Serenity, obviously guessing his thoughts, giggled. "Joey's really particular about keeping this place neat. If you had seen it a few years ago, it would have been a complete mess, but ever since he started applying himself in school, he's been a lot more fastidious. He said he noticed he could concentrate better when he was at Yugi's house, because there wasn't as much to distract him, and figured maybe, if he tidied up, it would be easier for him to sturdy here, too." She giggled again. "Don't tell him I told you!"

_As if I'd ever talk to the mutt unless it was unavoidable._ Kaiba thought. He did not say this. "Whatever."

Serenity walked over to the kitchen, Kaiba still in her arms. As she examined the rack of tea (Joey didn't drink much of the stuff, but Serenity loved it and he knew it, so he'd put the rack in and stocked it when it was decided that she'd be staying with him for the summer.) she absent-mindedly began to rub Kaiba's ears.

_That feels gooooood. _Kaiba closed his eyes and unconsciously leaned into her fingers, and didn't particularly pay attention to what she was doing.

Serenity smiled to herself as she looked at the cat she was holding. It was hard to believe it was Kaiba! But she'd heard him talking – they all had. Except for that little girl who came into the shop. _Hmm. Only certain people can hear him. Maybe there's a clue or something in that._ She thought as she selected her tea. A low rumbly sound made her look down at the cat in her arms. She hadn't realized she was scratching Kaiba's ears! The absurdity of the last sentence almost made her laugh, but she swallowed her amusement. It sounded like Kaiba was happy, and he'd be embarrassed if she brought his attention to the fact that he was purring…

Serenity began humming to herself, only stopping when she realized the purring had stopped. Looking down, she saw that Kaiba had fallen asleep. _Awww… he looks so _cute_ like that…_ she smiled to herself.

Joey and Mokuba chatted idly as they walked to the Kaiba mansion. Joey waved good-bye at the gate and watched to make sure the boy was inside and the gate was properly locked before turning around and heading home. No _way_ was he going to give Kaiba an opportunity to make fun of him… more than usual, anyway. Besides, he liked the kid.

On the _other _hand…

Joey smiled smugly to himself. Kaiba was currently a cat. Which meant the previously always immanent threat of Kaiba beating Joey to a pulp if Joey let his mouth get too smart was gone. Because Kaiba was a cat. And a small one, too, maybe 2 feet (60 cm) from nose to tail, and a foot (30 cm) of that was tail_! Ohhh, yes. Payback, here I come!_

Kaiba awoke to find himself on an extremely soft and comfortable surface, a pillow or couch or something. _Whatever. 'S comfortable. Why bother moving? Might as well go back to sleep._ He snuggled down into whatever it was, smirking to himself, more out of reflex than anything else.

He was just on the edge of sleep when he has rudely grabbed by the back of the neck, hauled into the air, and shaken roughly.

"_WHAT THE HECK DO YA THINK YOU'RE DOING YA SLIMEY PERVERT!_"

Opening his eyes, Kaiba found himself nose to nose with the mutt, who was yelling at him.

"_YOU SLIMEBALL! I BET YOU CAME IN HERE TO WATCH HER GET INTO HER PJ'S, DID'T YOU! HOW DARE YOU! THIS IS LOW EVEN FOR YOU, KAIBA!_"

"Um, Joey?" Serenity cut in, "Joey, he was asleep! He didn't even know he was in here! And I changed in the bathroom." She giggled.

"Oh." Joey stopped shaking Kaiba. Kaiba took the opportunity to lacerate Joey's face. "OW!" Joey dropped Kaiba back on the bed.

Kaiba lashed his tail angrily. "What the hell are you talking about, Wheeler?"

Joey glowered at him from between his hands (which were trying to stop the blood) and the trickles of blood escaping between them. "In case you hadn't noticed, fuzz-butt, you are in my baby sister's room. It's night. She's in her pj's, and you're on her bed! Whaddaya _think_ I'm talkin' about?"

"He didn't know." Serenity soothed. "He fell asleep while I was making tea. I figured you wouldn't want him on your bed, so I put him on mine. I changed in the bathroom, in case he woke up."

"Fine." Joey growled. "But he is _not_ spending the night in here, no matter _what_ shape he is!"

Kaiba jumped off the bed and stalked out of the room without a word, tail in the air.

"I oughta wring his furry neck." Joey growled.

Serenity put her arms around his waist, "He didn't do anything to me, Joey. He was out cold." She giggled. "He was purring when I rubbed his ears. It was so sweet."

Joey put his hands on her shoulders and looked deeply into Serenity's eyes. "Okay, sis, lay it to me straight, when did you hit your head? Or was it aliens? You _are _Serenity Wheeler, right? What's your favorite color?"

"Joey!"

"C'mon, sis! This is _Kaiba_ we're talking about, here!"

"I know! I just have a soft spot for kitty cats." Seeing the concerned look Joey was giving her, she looked at him a bit more seriously. "I won't let him back in my room tonight, Joey, and I'll close my door."

"Alright." Joey sighed, then gave her a hug. "G'night, Serenity."

"Night, Joey."

Yawning, Joey got out a clean uniform and laid it on his chair. Tomorrow was Monday, whoop-de-doo. The blonde guy pulled off his jeans and t-shirt and went to bed in his boxers.

Kaiba sulked quietly to himself in the kitchen for a bit, before deciding to do a little bit of exploring. A preliminary search showed him the kitchen, the bathroom, and… Wheeler's bedroom. With the mutt in it. Drooling on his pillow and mumbling in his sleep about giant donuts.

Kaiba was about to go and be sick when something on a chair caught his attention. It was a school uniform, and you didn't need to be a genius to figure out whose it was. A nice, _dark_, school uniform. And he, Kaiba, was a white cat. Who, he'd noticed a bit earlier, seemed to be shedding. An evil smirk spread over his face.

Almost lovingly, Kaiba, after leaping up onto the chair, began to rub against the clean, dark uniform, leaving a trail of white fur behind him….

There you have it! I'll write some more soon, I have some very good ideas about Joey's reaction to his discovery that his ONLY CLEAN SCHOOL UNIFORM is now white and furry! (mwahahaha) (yeah, I know this isn't my evil laughter contest fic, but evil laughter is something I do naturally. How do you think I came up with that other fic in the first place?) Remember: reviews make me happy and eager to type. A lack of reviews makes me sad and sluggish and make my muses less inclined to inspire me. If you want to hear more of this fic soon, please review!


	4. I've Always Wanted To Do That

Note: I don't know what came over me. Okay, that's a lie. My muses ambushed me. There I was, reading The Same Time Next Week by Shekiah, and was partway through chapter ten when my muses showed up and announced I was going to write the next chapter of this, right now.

Serenity awoke to the sound of screams. Her first thought was along the lines of 'ohmygod, the Uberscram has gotten past the defense lines and is gonna attack the chibi dark magicians!' (she'd had a cheese sandwich before bed last night, and, as a result, she'd been having a _really_ weird dream which she wasn't quite awake from) Then she listened a bit harder and woke up a bit more, and recognized the person screaming _wasn't_, in fact, a bunch of chibi dark magicians, but her brother Joey. This wasn't all that comforting, but it made more sense.

Sleepily, Serenity got out of bed and wandered over to her brother's room. "Joey?" she called out softly, "What's wrong, big brother?"

"I'M GONNA _MURDER_ HIM!" Joey howled, flinging his door open. Serenity had to stifle a giggle.

Joey's dark blue school uniform was _covered_ in white cat hair, completely coated. Joey was not happy about this. You could tell by the fact that he was scowling darkly, his face was bright red from anger, and steam was coming out of his ears.

"Why don't you just put on a clean uniform, Joey?"

"This _was_ my _last_ clean uniform!" Joey snarled. "I was gonna do the laundry after school. Where is that feline bastard! I'm gonna wring his furry neck!"

"Joey, please, calm down!" Serenity begged, still trying not to laugh. Joey just looked so _funny_! "You haven't got time!"

Joey sighed, and deflated a bit. He _had_ wasted a fair bit of time searching for Kaiba. "I guess your right, sis. Urgh." He gave her a hug, grabbed his backpack and a sandwich (he made it the night before – he was usually running behind Monday mornings, and had started taking preventative measures awhile ago) and ran out the door.

Wvwwvwvvwvwvwvwvwvwwvwvwvvwvwvvwvwvwvv

Joey wiped the sweat off his forehead as he arrived at his locker. "Made it! And with time left to get to homeroom, too!" He'd run all the way to school. This wasn't unusual, he was always in a hurry, at least, that's what it felt like. But he wasn't usually _this_ out of breath; his backpack seemed heavier than usual.

"Ugh, what'd I put in here, anyway?" Joey opened his locker, dropped his backpack on the floor, and unzipped it. A pair of blue eyes stared out at him. "ACK!"

"I take it you've tried to redo a zipper from the inside without fingers before." Kaiba said calmly – infuriatingly.

As may be guessed, Joey was _not_ amused. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing here, fuzzbutt?" Joey hissed (he had the sense to keep his voice down, since it was probably not in his best interest for people to start thinking that he talked to cats. It wasn't the talking to animals thing he minded, it was the expressions on their faces that would appear when he answered the cat after obviously waiting for a reply) "You got a lotta nevre, showing up like this, after messing up my uniform like you did!"

Kaiba looked at him coolly. "You accused me of a crime I did not commit, not to mention the fact that you nearly strangled me."

"When did I nearly strangle you – though I'm not saying that's a bad idea?"

Kaiba rolled his eyes (no idea if cats can actually do that) "When you were shaking me by the scruff of the neck and yelling at me. Only _kittens_ can be carried that way. _Cats_ can't breathe when you do that." (a/n: I'm _pretty sure_ this is true, but don't go quoting me in a science report. How does Kaiba know this? He's a genius. He knows lots of stuff.)

"Oh." That momentarily knocked the wind out of Joey's sails. But he recovered quickly. "But that don't answer my first question. What are you doing here?"

Kaiba regarded the teenager as if he were a particularly stupid kind of- hey, wait a sec, that's how Kaiba almost _always_ looks at Joey! Why am I bothering to add a descriptive? Kaiba looked at Joey. "It seems obvious, but I suppose I'll have to spell it out to you. It is _Mon-day_, Wheeler. On _Mon-days_, high school stu-dents go to a thing called scho-ol. We are _both_ high school stu-dents-"

"Awright, ya don't have to use baby talk at me, Kaiba, I ain't stupid." Joey growled. "What I meant was, why are you here, considering the fact that you are currently, in case you had forgotten, a _cat_? It's not like you can really do the work or anything!"

"You seriously expect me to let a little setback like this make me fall behind?"

"You-"

"_Hi_, Joey!" a sing-song voice called out. Joey and Kaiba both winced and turned around.

A red-head in the school uniform came bouncing up to him. She was sort of medium in height and had freckles, but wasn't particularly stunning. For all that, she was still a force to be reckoned with. She stood next to Joey, grinning.

Joey gave a strained smile. "Oh, hi, Meena. What can I do for ya?"

She squealed and bounced up and down, "Ooo, I was _hoping_ you'd ask me that!" she smiled lazily at him. "Have you seen darling Seto anywhere? _None_ of us can find him, and we've looked _everywhere_, and we've looked so _hard_, and we can't find him!" she pouted, "It isn't _like him_ to be _late_!"

Joey laughed nervously. "And what makes you think _I_ would know where he is, Meena?"

Meena managed to smirk and pout at the same time. "As President of the Seto Kaiba Fan Club, I know _everything_ there is to know about darling Seto, Joey, _including_," she looked coy, "_including_ who he likes and dislikes. And _everyone knows_ the two of you are always fighting…"

"Yeah, so I can't stand the guy, so wha-" Kaiba chose this moment to get out of Joey's backpack, growl, and swipe the blonde guy's leg, claws fully extended. "YEOUCH!" Joey hopped up and down on one leg, holding his wounded ankle.

Meena looked down. "Ohh, you've got a _kitty_!" she squealed, scooping Kaiba up in her arms.

Joey saw the expression on Kaiba's face and momentarily forgot about his own injuries. "Uh, yeah, Meena, that's Duel Monster, and he's a little-"

"He's so _adorabible!_" Meena hugged Kaiba (who was on his back in her arms) close. Kaiba lashed out with _both_ front paws.

"OW!" Meena dropped Kaiba and clutched her bleeding face. Twin streaks of red went diagonally down both cheeks. She ran off down the hallway sobbing about nurses and mean cats and scarring and what her Seto would do to Joey when he found out how Joey's cat had hurt her.

"-violent." Joey finished lamely. He ran a hand through his hair, sighed, and noticed a strange rumbling sound. Looking down, he saw Kaiba sitting on the floor, tail neatly tucked around his legs, licking one forepaw and purring to beat the band. "You do realize you are _licking_ your _hand_, right Kaiba?"

Kaiba's eyes, which had been closed, popped open. He stopped in mid-lick, and tried to spit. (I don't think cats can spit.) "Ack!" after a moment, though, he started purring again.

"What's so great, money bags?" Joey muttered, getting some books out of his locker.

Kaiba honored him with a glance. "I found that encounter highly enjoyable. I never liked those fan club girls, and I've wanted to just hit one of them for ages, but, of course, I couldn't, because guys are not supposed to pick on girls, or they get in trouble. But who would blame a cat for scratching someone?" He smirked.

Joey groaned.

Awww, poor Joey! (evil smirk) His day isn't going to get too much better from here, so the next chapter skips ahead a bit in time. Don't worry, I'll have accounts of various interesting events that take place during the day! I just got out of high school a couple weeks ago, and I the whole 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' shindig hasn't had time to take effect yet, so I don't even want to WRITE about high school!

BTW, one of the reasons I haven't updated in awhile is that my good buddy, Agent Malkere, has been alternately sick, stressed, and injured. IOW, she hasn't been having a great time of it, lately, and I've been worrying about her. She's skads better now, but she still ain't doing so great, and, therefore, I would call upon all of you readers to come to my aid! If you could use the send message thingy-bobby on her homepage on ffn to send her get-well-soon notes, that'd be uber-great! Please, if you can, just drop her a line telling her to get well soon and that she's a great writer – even if you haven't read her stuff, trust me, she's all that and a bag of chips AND a free can of soda! – I'd really appreciate it, and I'm sure she would too! Thanks!


	5. The Video Game CHAMPION!

Note: Hiya, everyone! I know, I know, I haven't updated in FOREVER! (a muse comes up) muse: it's only been about eight days. I think they can survive that long without an update. Trickster: _NO THEY __**CAN'T**_ (glowers) Are you trying to sabotage my self-confidence? Muse: No. You're just being really weird again. Trickster: (glowers) Whatever. Anyway, this chapter is LONG! So be grateful and don't expect another update for a bit! I mean, I'm gonna start WRITING the next chapter pretty soon, but I don't know when it will be finished or posted. Just be assured that it WILL become a reality at some point! Hopefully BEFORE July! BTW, THANK-YOU, SPIRIT ELMA!!! (she's the only one who reviewed the last chapter. (sniff)) So, everyone, READ AND REVIEW! I'm panicking on this end of the net, worrying about whether or not you guys are viewing my poor efforts as worthwhile and beating myself up for not writing more more often! The LEAST you could do is drop a line saying what you think of my story! Anyway, ON VITH ZE MANUSCRIPT!!!

Disclaimer: Ack! I forgot a disclaimer in my last chapter! (throws herself down on her knees) PLEASE, I'M _SORRY_, I DON'T OWN YUGIOH OR VIDEO GAMES OR ANYTHING! _PLEASE_ STOP WHATEVER MEASURES YOU HAVE BEEN TAKING TO SUE ME FOR… um… PLAGERIZEM! I DIDN'T MEAN TO! And my nice, ticking green rock blew up, so I'm already dealing with enough stress here without lawsuits…

Joey knocked wearily on the door of the house. He was staggering a bit. It had been a long day, and Joey wanted nothing more than to unwind with his friends…

"DIE YOU SCUM-SUCKING ALIEN SOB!!!" the death threat reverberated out of the house.

Kaiba, perched in Joey's backpack, raised his eyebrows. At least, he would have, if cats had eyebrows… "Just whose house are we at, Wheeler?" (Joey had had a heart to heart with Kaiba shortly after discovering that Kaiba had eaten the sandwich Joey had packed for his lunch.

FLASH-BACK (WOOT!WOOT!)

Joey looked at the empty bag, stunned. His stomach growled. "I can't _believe_ you ate my _entire_ tuna-fish sandwich."

Kaiba licked his whiskers and looked smug. "What do you plan to do about it, mutt? Want me to cough it up in a hairball for you?"

Joey's already frayed patience snapped. He grabbed Kaiba by the scruff of his neck (not caring if he inadvertently strangled the teenager-cum-cat in the process) and held him up to eye level (but at arms length – he's not entirely stupid. Kaiba _does_ have claws now). "Alright, rich boy, I've had enough of this!"

Kaiba eyed him coolly.

Joey continued. "As far as we can tell, only the gang and Mokuba can hear you talk, right?"

"Right."

"So no one else can understand what you're saying, they just hear a cat meowing, right?"

"That would seem to be the case." Kaiba looked at Joey as he always did, that is, as if he were dealing with a very slow child that wasn't housetrained.

"So, in other words, there is absolutely _nothing_ to stop me from buying you a collar and cat carrier, taking you to the vet's, and getting you neutered, right?"

Kaiba, to his credit, merely gulped and looked uncomfortable.

"I'm glad you get my drift! And I bet you're thinking about how inconvenient it would be if turnin' human again, assuming we figure out _how_ to turn you human again, would fix you back up or leave you a permanent _virgin_, aren't you? Well, unless you stop calling me 'mutt' and deliberately trying to piss me off, _we are going to find out the answer to that question! Comprende?_"

Kaiba gulped again. "I get it. Put me down, mu- Wheeler."

END FLASH-BACK!

Kaiba had been _slightly _more civil after that, but only a bit. Still, it was enough to let Joey survive the day with his sanity intact. Barely.)

Joey sighed. "One of my friends' houses."

"Which one? The pointy-haired freak? (a/n: Tristan) Dice-"

Kaiba didn't get a chance to finish. Joey had rung the bell when they got there, and now the door opened to reveal –

"Hi, Joey! I was in the middle of a battle with Tristan, sorry I didn't get the door sooner! It's just, I found out this new technique in one of the gamer sites on the web, and I _so_ had to try it out! It's really great, too! Tristan was _totally_ demolished!" Tea bounced up and down a couple times. "You should have _seen_ it, Joey! And the graphics on this game are really good, it made the splattered blood look really realistic! But I'm babbling – I really have to break that habit – come in! Oh, hi, Kaiba!" Tea bounced back inside, chirping into the living room as she passed it, "Prepare for a world of pain guys! Oh, I put some stuff on the table for you in the kitchen, Joey! Yugi told me about how Kaiba got your lunch."

"Thanks, Tea! I owe you one." Joey staggered in.

"What are friends for?" Tea giggled. "You know what I say, friendship holds the world together! Now, I have to go and decimate what's left of Tristan's butt!" she skipped off.

Joey gratefully pounced on the bowl of stew Tea had set out for him. Kaiba just sat on the floor, looking mildly stunned. Joey noticed this when he was about a third of the way through his stew. (Remember, Tea _knows_ Joey. It was a big bowl of stew.) "What's wi' you, Kaiba?"

Kaiba shook his head, too shocked to speak. Joey got a knowing look in his eyes.

"It's Tea, isn't it?"

Kaiba nodded. "Since when does friendship girl love violent video games?"

Joey raised his eyebrows. "Surprised the crap outa ya, didn't she?"

"It doesn't exactly fit with the whole 'yay, friendship' persona."

"Hey, how do you think we first met her? Tristan and me were playing a game against each other, and she challenged Yuge to another game while he waited for us. She creamed him, too!"

Kaiba shook his head again. "I would never have guessed…"

"Yeah," Joey shoveled in more stew, "They're her 'secret sin' as she calls it. She doesn't come out about it much – thinks it'll ruin her rep as a serious dancer. But you would not _believe_ how many times she's had to change her screen name in online games, just so people keep challenging her!" he shrugged. "She says it helps her relieve tension."

Kaiba wisely didn't comment.

Yugi wandered into the room. "Hey Joey, hi, Kaiba. Joey, could you hurry up and get out there? Tea's on a MAJOR gaming spree!"

"How major?"

"She's using two game controls at once and fighting Tristan and Ryou simultaneously! And _winning_!"

"So what?" Joey was unimpressed.

Kaiba gaped.

Joey spared a glance at the cat. "What's the matter? She does that all the time. Anyway, as I said before, Yuge, so what?"

Yugi groaned. "Remember the _last_ time she did this sort of thing? She ended up battling _herself_!"

"Yeah." Joey grinned. "Now _that_ was some serious entertainment! Ever seen someone cuss _themselves_ out, Kaiba? And then _respond_ to it in like terms? It's great!"

Kaiba's eye twitched.

Tristan staggered out of the living room, gasping and looking like he'd been through a marathon run through the brush. "Joey? What's takin' ya, man? Are you gonna leave me to be cannon fodder to Tea for the _whole day_? Where's the love? Where's the Swamp Battle Guard when ya need him? Because, for your information, the _Lava_ Battle Guard has gone down for the last time!" With that, he collapsed.

Joey picked up his bowl of stew and his spoon in one hand and tucked Kaiba under his arm with the other hand. Kaiba hissed, then looked kinda surprised at his reaction. Joey didn't notice. "I don't care if you scratch me to ribbons, _soprano_," he added, to remind Kaiba exactly _who_ had the _important_ power in the situation, "But you _have_ to see this! Let me tell you, it's like nuthin' you ever seen before!"

In the living room, the rest of the group sat around the TV that was hooked up to the game system. Yugi and Yami were watching from the couch (Yugi had control of the body), Serenity was watching the TV screen, Ryou was sitting in an easy chair with a book and a very relaxed expression, probably because Bakura was standing behind Duke, as a spirit, watching him wrestle with the controls to survive the onslaught. The thief apparently found the violence on the screen fascinating. Which brought Kaiba's wandering gaze to the last person in the room, Tea. She had two controllers and was manipulating both with equal skill, which was pretty astounding even if you _didn't_ notice that she was only using one controller with her hands. The other one was being handled by her bare feet. (Tea is a dancer, and she's in good shape (trust me, if you don't dance, I've taken some dance classes in the last few years. It's _grueling_ work to get into the kind of condition you have to be in to dance well!) and that healthy physique includes her feet!) She wasn't _looking_ at either controller, but was instead staring at the screen, where two fighters were ganged up on a third. With a particularly violent slash, the loner accepted its fate as a small bloody smear and the two fighters turned on each other.

Tea started growling to herself.

"Al_right_!" Joey grinned, "Just in time for the best part!"

Duke groaned and dropped his controller. "It's not really fair, you know. She always has _two _fighters going at once while the rest of us only have _one_!"

"It doesn't really matter. Even during the times we've _all_ ganged up on her at once, she _still_ always wins." Yugi pointed out, before smiling at the newcomers. "Hi, Joey! Hi, Kaiba!"

Kaiba glowered. "Put me _down_, Wheeler."

Duke sauntered up to Joey, winding a tendril of hair around one finger. "Ah, so it's true, then. The great Seto Kaiba really _has_ been turned into a fluffy little kitty cat. Nice to see you again, Kaiba, or, should I say," he smirked, "_Duel Monster_?"

Kaiba looked at Duke for a moment, thought something over in his head, then placed what would turn into five nice, long scars on the Dice-master's bare left arm. Duke howled in pain. There weren't any words to it; it was basically how the experience felt made vocal.

Ryou looked up from his book, checked to make sure Bakura hadn't taken over without his noticing (Bakura _is_ the king of thieves, and I will give him credit where credit is due), and finally looked around the room sharply. "What's going on?" his eyes fell on Duke's heavily bleeding arm. Understanding dawned on Ryou's face. "I'll get the first aid kit." Placing a bookmark in his book, the pale duelist strode out of the room.

Kaiba only had to look at him to get Joey to explain Ryou's reaction. "Ryou's been picked on a lot, even _before_ Bakura entered the picture. Learning First Aid was pretty much a survival skill. He always patches everyone up."

Ryou re-entered and began swabbing Duke's arm off with some cotton. Kaiba observed the process, feeling slightly smug, for some reason. _That's gonna scar reeeeal bad, Dukey- did I just think the word _gonna_? And refer to Deblin as 'Dukey'? And use incorrect grammar? Grrrr, this is what happens when you associate with people like _Wheeler_ all day! I need to find a way to change back – soon! I wonder of Mokuba's found anything useful… Oh yeah, I was supposed to contact Noa… better see if friendship freak has a computer worth using…_

The growling coming from the blue-eyed female gamer changed to muttering, then, suddenly, into a full-blown cuss-fest.

"censored because I don't have a high enough rating for serious swearing. (pause) also because I know a grand total of (counts off in head) six swearwords. Yes, I do know how pathetic that is, thank-you very much!!!!!!"

Kaiba forgot to be superior in his amazement. "I didn't think she even knew words like that _existed_." He breathed.

"I know, amazing, ain't it?" Joey had resumed eating his stew and was watching his friend with evident enjoyment. "She actually grew up in a pretty tough neighborhood. Then her dad _finally_ got hired at a decent job, and they were able to move here when she was in 6th grade - ooo, that was a new one! I think she made that one up!" Joey interrupted himself with the appreciative comment concerning Tea's cursing. "Anyway, she's _really_ good at not letting this side of herself show through. The mask only slips when she's gamin'."

There was a splash of blood on the screen, and one of the fighters fell over in several pieces. "YES!" Tea pumped a fist in the air, "I've been trying to get that move to work for weeks!" She stretched and stood up, wandering over to Ryou and Duke. "Want some help, Ryou? I can hold the bandage for you while you tape it off." Ryou had been wrapping a gauze bandage around Duke's arm, securing it with cloth tape.

"Oh, thanks, Tea, that would be a big help!" he showed her where he needed her to hold the bandage.

Tea held the white cloth delicately against Duke's arm. "Say, Duke, I meant to ask, how are the plans for the Dice Monsters Tournament coming along? I remember you mentioning it at school a couple days ago and meant to ask more at the time, but the subject got changed."

Duke smiled at her, "It's coming along great, Tea. It's not a very big one, the game's popularity has grown, but not enough for a big tournament, yet. It's mostly a group of middle-school kids who hang out around the shop on weekends. They're really into Dice Monsters, always talking strategy and stuff. Sometimes I take 'em down to the lowest floor and let them use the gaming arena and give them tips on strategy and all. They're the ones who suggested the tournament in the first place." He winced as Tea squeezed a bit too hard on his arm.

Tea was immediately apologetic. "Oh my gosh, sorry Duke! I didn't mean to do that!!"

"It's okay, Tea."

Kaiba shook his head. The change was remarkable! One minute, she was on the warpath and swearing in a manner that would make some guys at school blush, the next instant, she was the friendship-dancing freak he had had so much experience with. It was incredible!

Yugi, who had wandered over to see how his friend was, suddenly smiled. "You know, Duke, that thing with the kids coming to your shop on weekends to play Dungeon Dice Monsters sounds a lot like what Joey and Tristan and Tea and I used to do with Grandpa! We'd go to the shop on weekends and he'd show us different cards and moves and everything!"

Duke laughed. "Great! Just what I need, a bunch of kids to start calling me 'Gramps' while I'm still in High School!"

Ryou finished his treatments and sat back, turning to Duke. "Done. You know, now that you mention it, I think I've seen those kids before. There's three girls and four boys… and they all have t-shirts with Dice Monsters and the words 'Dimension the Dice' written on them, right?"

"That's them." Duke rubbed his neck. "They made the shirts themselves." He was acting embarrassed, but everyone could tell he was flattered by the attention the kids gave him. Being worshiped by girls who think you are hotter than Hades is one thing, but having the undying respect and awe of the next generation is another entirely.

Kaiba decided to cut in before he lost his chance entirely. "Do you have a computer in this place, Gardner?"

"What? Oh, sure thing, Kaiba. It's kind of old, though…"

Kaiba mentally steeled himself. He needed to talk to Noa. Much as he disliked admitting it, the guy had done wonders for the security system and, after all the years he had spent in the cyber world, he could fix a bug in a program almost before it had a chance to take effect. And, this he would _never_ admit, he had been getting more sleep lately, due to the lessened workload. He would just have to put up with inferior technology. "Fine. As long as it connects to the internet, it's fine."

Tea's eyebrows rose, but she didn't say anything. "It's in my room. I'll show you where it is." She stood up. "You guys work on your fighting skills while I escort Kaiba to the computer!"

"_Do you plan to challenge her in the next game, Yugi?"_ Atemu asked as Kaiba jumped off the chair he had been perched on to follow Tea.

Yugi shook his head. _"Un-uh! To be honest, Tea scares me a bit when she's in her 'gaming mode'. Besides, she'd kick my butt!"_

"_Oh."_ Atemu thought for a moment. _"Can _I_ challenge her, then?"_

Yugi laughed. _"Go ahead, but let me warn you, Tea knows a LOT of different strategies, and she's sneaky!"_

The pair's conversation was cut off as Kaiba turned a corner, following Tea to some stairs. Strange. He was pretty sure Yugi and the… Pharaoh, for lack of a better name to call the spirit, hadn't been speaking out loud. _But I could hear them plain as day. Odd…_ Kaiba's musings were cut short the moment he set paw on the stairs. He paused.

Tea noticed the sudden lack of noise behind her, and turned to see Kaiba crouched at the bottom of the stairs, staring up them intensely. "Kaiba? Are you o-"

Kaiba sprang forwards and sprinted past her. One thought and one thought only was occupying his mind: _MUST RUN UP STAIRS!!!!!!_

At the top of the steps he stopped, turned around, and sat down. He looked at Tea coolly, as if he hadn't just gone up the stairs like a maniac. "Well, Gardner? Are you coming or not?"

Tea shook her head and hurried up to join him.

wvwvwvwvwvwvwvwvvwvwvwwwwwww

There you go! Allll done! I hopey you likey! BTW, the reason Kaiba suddenly bounded up the stairs is that I'm using the notion that the body shapes the mind and vice versa to some extent in my story, and my cat and my sister's cat both do that sort of thing on a regular basis. (I have a hunch that my sister's cat considers it to be of vital importance that she races with me to see if she can reach the top of the stairs before I reach the bottom.)

Also, hope you all like my revelation about Tea's secret hobby! (I know a lot of people don't like her and are annoyed at her, and I will admit, her friendship speeches do get kinda tedious. But she's a nice enough character with the best intentions at heart, so I decided, instead of bashing her or ignoring her or whatever, _I_ would reveal a character trait that makes her a bit more palatable! What do you guys think? Do you like my revelation? (she has very nimble toes! !))


	6. Cyber StepSibling

Note: (Trickster enters in black and charcoal grey tie-dye, with a black veil over her head. Begins to cry.) (muse enters.)

Muse: Um, Trickster? What's with the whole mourning attitude?

Trickster: (sniffles) All my readers are dead. And it's all my fault.

Muse: WHAT?!? How did that happen?

Trickster: (sobbing) I haven't updated in almost two months! I KNEW my loyal readers couldn't survive that long without an update, but I didn't care! I allowed myself to be swept up in waves of Danny Phantom fanfic and DragonFable! And now they're _dead_ and it's all my _faaaaaaauuuuuult_!!! (sobs even harder)

Muse: (face-palms.) You are incredibly pathetic. You know that, right? They aren't dead, you're just wracked with throes of guilt for not updating in awhile.

Trickster: (calms down. Sniffles.) They aren't?

Muse: No, they aren't.

Trickster: Oh. (pause) I guess I'd better get on with this note then, shouldn't I.

Muse: (shortly) Yeah.

Trickster: (deep breath) Hi everyone! Sorry for not updating in so long, I really have been swept up in reading fanfics and playing DragonFable, plus my family just got back from vacation and I didn't have reliable internet connection for most of the trip. This fic is not dead and I will finish it! I promise! **Oh, and from now on, the bits of my ANs that have relevance to the story plot/explain a joke/something along those lines will be in bold, for those of you who don't tend to read these things.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. But I DO have a cat. He's an orange fluff-ball. (pause) with _attitude_!

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Tea led Kaiba down the hallway at the top of the stairs to her room. He padded along quietly behind her, showing none of the strange dementedness that he had displayed on the stairs a couple minutes ago.

Using the incredible self-control that had kept her video-gaming passion a secret since she was ten, Tea refrained from commenting on Kaiba's weird actions. She merely opened the door to her room, revealing walls covered with posters of famous dancers, video games she liked, and a few with a Duel Monsters theme. It was an odd combination, but it worked. Somehow.

Kaiba jumped onto the chair in front of the desk where the computer sat. Tea had to turn it on for him, a fact that rankled the young CEO no end, but, despite the fact that the thing was several _years_ old and extremely out of date, the computer did have an excellent connection to the internet. Kaiba was able to log onto the Kaiba Corp site easily, and from there it took a few but a moment to find the secret link that led to what Noa called his 'room'.

Even Kaiba wasn't exactly sure what the thing was. The 'room' wasn't a website, nor was it a blog, yet it wasn't a data file either. He'd decided not to pursue the matter, on account of the fact that: 1) It didn't take up room on his computer's hard-drive, 2) There was no use for it, other than housing Noa, that Kaiba could think of, and, 3) It was useful for contacting his cyber-step-brother. All you had to do was log on to the… thingy-bobby (it grated on Seto to not be able to use the proper technical term for it, at first. Then he'd heard Noa chatting with Mokuba and referring to the 'room' in that manner. If even Noa didn't know what he'd made, Seto had decided it wasn't worth the bother.) and wait a minute or two. Then either Noa would show up, or a sign that said 'Noa, Cyber-Guru Extraordinaire and Supreme Master of the Cyber Worlds, is currently dealing with a technical glitch and unavailable at the moment. Sorry for the inconvenience, leave a post-it, and he'll get back to you as soon as possible.' showed up. There was a button on this message that had 'leave a post-it' written on it, so that anyone who found Noa's thingy-bobby could leave him a message.

This time, however, Noa appeared on the screen. He was lying on a large, messy bed and playing with Sam, his cyber robot dog. Beyond and around the bed there appeared to be a normal teenager's bedroom, complete with posters on the walls and messy laundry on the floor. Noa was, in fact, the only thing that appeared out of place in the room, as he was dressed in a manner that implied he had gone to the Renaissance Faire as a peasant recently. The green-haired cyber-teen looked up as Kaiba watched. He smiled cheerfully and waved.

"Oh, hi, Tea! Nice to see you again! Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting visitors for awhile, just a sec!" Noa closed his eyes and appeared to concentrate. There was a flicker on the screen and the room was perfectly clean. Noa was dressed in perfect evening wear, complete with a top hat, bow tie, waistcoat, gloves, and white spats over his shoes. The band on the top hat, the tie, the gloves, and the waistcoat were all a dark purple that complemented his hair nicely. He stood up and bowed formally to Tea, who was standing behind Kaiba, while Sam yapped happily. "Welcome to my secret hideaway, Tea! Honored to have you!"

Tea gaped. Noa had apparently changed a _lot_ since last she'd met him.

He sat back down on the edge of his bed, neatly placing his top hat beside him, then putting the gloves in the hat. "So, how did you find me? No offence, but I never really had you down as the hacker type."

Kaiba growled. "She didn't hack onto the site, Noa. _I_ wanted to talk to you."

"Hunh?" Noa's brow furrowed. "Data entered does not computer. Program failure. Out of cheese error. Reboot and try again."

"Oh no! What's happening to him?!?" Tea reached out a hand towards the keyboard.

Kaiba swatted it away. "Nothing's wrong with him." The CEO cum cat growled. "He's playing head-games. He gets some sort of perverse satisfaction out of saying things like that when he's confused." He turned back to Noa. "It's me, Seto Kaiba. You're boss?"

"_SETO_?!?" the screen zoomed in for a close-up of Noa's face. Either that or Noa ran up close to the screen and pushed his nose against it. "You turned yourself into a _cat_?" the green-haired teen paused and rubbed his chin in thought. "Why didn't _I_ think of that? It sounds like fun!" he smiled, "This is going to be great! A whole new form of entertainment! Shape-shifting!" his face fuzzed for a moment, then cleared, and he got a familiar look in his eyes.

Tea recognized it, having seen it on Kaiba's face often enough. Noa had just switched into Business Mode. "You know, Seto, once I've figured out how to shape-shift my cyber form, I bet I could figure out how to make a program for the virtual world that lets players do the same thing! Just think of it! Pay a few more bucks, and you can roam the world as an animal of your choice! This has _major_ potential, Seto!" Noa backed up from the screen a bit; now his entire head and shoulders were visible. Noa shook his head, an awed smile on his face. "Wow, you really _do_ have mental abilities equal to my own! I'll get started right away!"

"Noa! Wait!"

Tea covered her mouth to help suppress a snicker at the tone of Kaiba's voice. There wasn't a lot, but Tea could hear the hint of panic in his voice.

Noa turned from the corner of the 'room' he had been about to run to. "What?" he was now dressed in jeans and a purple t-shirt, apparently having decided that Kaiba was not a visitor it was worth dressing up for. The t-shirt had the words 'Dimension the Dice!' written on it in green.

Kaiba sighed. "Noa, I didn't turn into a cat on purpose. It was due to some weird bracelet that the mu- um, Wheeler's sister got. She made a wish and I was turned into a cat." He glowered.

"HA!" Noa pointed at him and laughed, a triumphant smirk on his face. "Try and say magic doesn't exist _now_, step-bro!"

Tea was surprised at Noa's reaction. "You believe in magic, Noa?"

"Yeah." Noa's eyes shifted guiltily from side to side. "So?"

"Oh, nothing, really," Tea shrugged. "I just supposed that you'd be more like Kaiba when it came to magic. I mean, you _are_ about as scientifically oriented as anyone can get. You _live_ in cyberspace!"

"I repeat, so?" Noa put on a mock wounded expression. "Just because I'm a cyber-being, I can't believe in magic? I'm hurt, Tea, truly and deeply hurt. I would never have guessed you to be a speciest, Tea, never. You cut me to the quick!" he put a hand melodramatically to his forehead and rolled his eyes back in his head. The screen fuzzed. When it cleared, the room looked like it had been borrowed from an old stone castle, and Noa was dressed like a character from one of Shakespeare's tragedies in black velvet, a lily in his free hand. "Oh, woe is me! Alas and alack! Wurra-wurra, lackaday!"

Kaiba groaned, but Tea burst out laughing. Noa smiled and changed back into the jeans and t-shirt, though he didn't bother changing the setting, and he still had a floppy black velvet hat on his head. "You laugh easily. That was nothing, I didn't even go into how I was dying from the pain you'd caused me. I had a really good death monolog prepared, too!"

"In the true Shakespearian fashion?" Tea giggled.

"Dancing girl, it would have required an intermission." Noa deadpanned. Tea howled with laughter and Noa's blank face cracked and he joined her. Kaiba looked on with a pained expression as both of them rolled on the floor, shouting with laughter.

"Noa, I didn't get in contact with you so that you could practice your comedic skills or to inspire new business ventures." He paused. "Though your idea does sound worth exploring. I need you to search the internet for ways to break whatever 'spell' I'm under."

Noa stopped laughing and looked impressed. "You're still skeptical, aren't you?" he looked closely at Kaiba, "Despite the fact that you're walking around on all fours and have a tail, you're still skeptical about the existence of magic. Wow. I'm not sure whether to be impressed or worried."

"Sign me up for psychologist sessions again and I'll send a virus to your blog and have you listed as a villain whose destruction earns the player bonus points in the virtual world."

"Okay, okay, no need to get cranky! I was nervous that time and Mokuba was losing weight he was so stressed!"

Kaiba glowered. "It wasn't as big of an issue as you two made it out to be."

"Seto," Noa walked up close to the screen again, "I'm telling you this because you are my step-brother and the only person who'll duel me without requesting a handicap. When someone spends three days in a row at work, let alone in his office, it is a warning sign, never mind if there's an adjoining bathroom, a couch with a fold-out bed, and a stocked fridge in that office."

Tea stared at Kaiba. Kaiba wouldn't meet her eyes. "Just look up the stuff." He growled and jumped off the chair. Tea and Noa watched him stalk out of the room. There was a vague silence for a moment or two.

"Is he _always_ this uptight?" Noa bent and picked up Sam.

Tea started. "Um, huh?"

"Usually when I see him, he acts like he's on a deadline. The kind of deadline where if he doesn't finish perfectly and on time, the Earth will blow up." Noa explained calmly, ruffling a hand through Sam's fur, itching the area where the cyber-robot-dog's metal head merged with fur. "I was just wondering if he was like that at other times as well – at school, at work, when he's relaxing – or if it's being around me that does it." The room flickered behind him and became a normal bedroom again. Noa sat on the edge of his bed and put Sam in his lap. He looked thoughtfully at Tea. "I wouldn't worry so much – or probably even care so much – if it weren't for Mokie – don't tell him I called him that." He added hastily.

"I won't." Tea promised solemnly.

"Thanks." Noa smiled. He could look disconcertingly like Mokuba at times, Tea noted. It was weird, because he obviously didn't intend to, and the two boys weren't related. "Anyway, the Mokester really cares about Seto, and you know the kid. If he cares about someone, he has a good reason." The smile turned into a grin. (an: yes, there is a difference!)

Tea grinned back. She couldn't help herself. It was hard to imagine this cheerful, joking, yet highly intelligent boy was the same person who had been so angry, so bitter, and so lonely he had tried to kill her and her friends. "Don't worry, it's not you." She reassured him. "The only times I've _ever_ seen him loosen up are when he's just rescued Mokuba from something horrible and is just seeing him well and whole again for the first time afterwards."

Noa looked a bit relieved. "I'm glad it's not just me. I was actually starting to feel _guilty_ about contacting Mokuba, since Seto always looks so pissed whenever he sees the two of us together, or me in general. Usually."

"What would you have done if I had said that he was more relaxed when you weren't around?" Tea was curious about this new Noa.

He shrugged. "Not sure. Probably changed the setting for where this room connects to the Kaiba Corp site to an IM screen, sent him e-mails instead of popping up on his screen when I wanted to tell him something, so he wouldn't have to look at me." He gulped, and added quietly. "Left Mokuba alone."

Tea wanted to reach out and take his hand, but this was obviously impossible. So instead, she asked, "Mokuba means almost as much to you as he does to Kaiba, doesn't he?"

Noa blushed slightly and gave her a small smile. "He believed in me, back in the cyber-world. He wanted to be my brother. Even after I took control of his mind. Even after I stole his body and almost killed everyone. Even then, he still made me promise to come with you." Noa hugged Sam close to his chest.

"No one had ever believed in me like that before. No one had ever wanted me like that before. Gozoburo and my tutors _expected_ me to do well, and Gozoburo mainly saw me as someone to carry on the family name and business. And not even that, after the accident. Mokuba's been so good for me. I give complete credit to hanging out with him as to why I've calmed down and been able to get over the past as well as I have." Noa paused and looked at Tea speculatively. "He's kinda like Yugi is for you and the gang, I guess. Yugi, not Atemu." He added, to make sure his point was clear. "He's the innocence that Seto and I both missed out on in our childhoods." He gave Tea a crooked grin. "I actually see a lot of myself before I met Mokuba in Seto and, not that he'd ever believe me, I do kinda see him as my brother.

"True, maybe a brother I have a strong rivalry with, but a brother none-the-less. And when Mokie talks about what Seto's done for him, sometimes I even see the amazing, godlike brother Mokuba sees. I wouldn't have liked not being able to see Mokuba anymore, would have hated it, actually, but I would have done it, for Seto. I'd have just kept in contact with Mokie through e-mail or something. Seto hasn't been able to let go of the past as much as I have, not just yet, which I find extremely weird," he suddenly flashed a mischievous smile at Tea. "If I was around the Mokester as much as _he_ is, I'd probably be as mellow as a hippie and wandering around the web in frayed bell-bottoms and a tie-dyed t-shirt with my hair a foot longer, 'sharing the love'."

Tea couldn't help it. She laughed again. Noa laughed with her. "That's another thing – my sense of humor wasn't buried as deep as his is. A good sense of humor is crucial for guys like me and Seto."

"Why's that?" Tea asked.

Noa sobered up again. "'cause with the crap we've been through, to quote, 'you gotta laugh or else you'll start crying'. I'm laughing now, but Seto's still crying. He just doesn't let anyone else know. To be honest, I think this whole cat thing and staying with Joey and Serenity will be good for him. He needs to loosen up."

Tea nodded, then did a double take. "Wait a moment, how do you know Kaiba's staying with Joey and Serenity? He didn't tell you that!"

Noa turned to Sam, who was sitting beside him now. "Oops, busted! Whaddaya think, Sam? Should we demand a lawyer or throw ourselves on the mercy of the court?" Sam barked. Noa nodded wisely, as though the robot-dog had just imbued him with words of great knowledge. "Excellent advice, Sam. I can always count on you to tell me exactly what to do." He tickled the pup and it wriggled with pleasure, then turned back to Tea. "Under the influence of Sam's great wisdom, I'm going to confess. I keep tabs on Seto and Mokuba, especially Seto. He works too hard." He smirked, and this time he looked disturbingly like Kaiba. "Didn't you guys ever wonder as to why Seto's been acting slightly more human lately? I've been keeping an eye on him, and if he starts acting too machine-like, I give the Mokester a heads-up and he in turn gets on Seto's case about it. It is a truly excellent system."

"Um…" Tea wasn't sure how to respond to this revelation.

Noa noticed this and hurriedly tried to reassure her. "Don't worry, I'm not watching him _all_ the time. I do have a life of my own to live, for pretty much the first time _ever_. I just look in on him every now and then, make sure he's okay. The Mokester used to do the same thing. The major difference in me doing it is that I'm a better hacker than he is, for obvious reasons, and I don't get caught _nearly_ as much as he did, so he doesn't get grounded as much anymore, leaving him free to pursue other pastimes. It's a win-win-win situation. Mokuba knows how his brother's doing and has more free time, Seto is healthier than he was and, thanks to me, has a lighter workload, and I have a job to do which makes me feel important and an excuse to spy on Seto every now and then. It's perfect!"

Tea rolled her eyes. "Now you sound like Joey."

"Do not." Noa looked indignant. "I in no way, shape, or form have a Brooklyn accent."

Tea laughed. "Okay, you don't sound like him, but you know what I mean. Anyway, I've been wondering. What's with the t-shirt? Are you a part of Duke's fanclub?"

Noa started and looked down. Tea hid a smile. Apparently he hadn't been thinking of a specific shirt when he changed his outfit. "Sorta…" he hedged.

Tea folded her arms and raised her eyebrows. "Spill it, Noa. Most of my friends are guys. I _know _how to read the male mind pretty well."

"Okay, I'm part of the inner group." Noa rolled his eyes. "But only because Dungeon Dices Monsters – or, as we of the elite circle like to call it, D2M – is so much fun!" His eyes were shining. "It's a game that I can't cheat at, so I have to rely on skill alone. There aren't many of those for me."

"How do you play? From what I remember of the game, you have to roll dice. Do you have cyber dice or something?"

"Nope, otherwise I'd be able to cheat. I've got a bank account and have gotten myself some dice, and Duke holds onto them at the store for me. I join the group on a little screen on a pole and a wheeled tri-pod that Mokuba and I made. I can wheel it around, and, as long as someone rolls the actual dice for me, I'm fine."

"Don't the rest of the group wonder why you don't come in person?"

"They think I live abroad. Which I do. Sorta."

"Duke knows about you? How come he didn't tell the rest of us?"

"I asked him not to. He's a pretty cool guy, makes me regret turning him into stone and all in the virtual world. Actually, I regret most of that episode."

"Only most?"

"Well, I met the Mokester and got out of that place thanks to all of you, and I sure as heck don't regret _that_!"

Just then a yell came from downstairs.

"TEA! HURRY UP, ALREADY! ATEMU WANTS TO GET TROUNCED BY YOU!" Tristan bellowed up the stairs.

Atemu, in an attempt to clear his name, yelled, "DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, TEA! I JUST WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU TO A GAME!"

"SAME DIFF!" Tristan yelled.

Tea rolled her eyes. "I gotta go, Noa. But I really enjoyed talking to you, can I have your e-mail address or the site you have your blog on, so we can chat again sometime?"

"Sure, Tea." Noa looked pleased. He put a couple of web addresses on the screen, which Tea copied down.

"Thanks! I love making new friends!"

"You're welcome." Noa winked, "But no going all friendship-girl on me!"

Tea laughed. "Okay, but only if you don't go all supierior-cyber-being on me!"

"Deal!" Noa and his room vanished.

Tea smiled and turned off her computer, then headed back downstairs. "READY OR NOT, ATEMU, HERE I COME! PREPARE FOR A WORLD OF _PAIN_!"

That's it for now! I know that most of this chapter was Noa and Tea talking, there will be more of Kaiba and Joey and Serenity and everyone in the next chapter, promise! I hope Noa didn't seem too OOC for people! I really like the idea that he could have a life like this! Hey, wait a second- (reads over fic again) O.O! Oh. My. Word. After Kaiba leaves, my fic, it's… it's… SERIOUS! (look of horror on face. Agonized wail.) NOOOOOOOOO!!!! I write light, humorous stuff, maybe a little romantic comedy on the side, but still, always HUMOR! (pause) Except for His Treasure. That's kinda serious – but it's SUPPOSED to be! ARGH! (tears at hair) I KNOW WHERE THIS LEADS! FIRST STEP SERIOUS, THEN _ANGST_! I DON'T _DO_ ANGST FANFIC! THAT'S AGENT MALKERE'S SPECIALTY!!! (goes off and has very loud nervous break-down in a corner. Symbols walks in.)

Symbols: x-d/3d Tr;k5+3r - O.O[Tr;k5+3r (translation: Tie-dyed Trickster is crazy. (rolls eyes) (hits Trickster))

Trickster: Ow! Okay, okay, I'll snap out of it! Sheesh, Symbols! Oh, everyone, this is one of my muses, her name is Symbols. Guess why. **Oh, and the reason Noa was originally in Renn-Faire peasant gear is that he'd just gotten back from a gig in the Virtual Gaming World and hadn't gotten back into regular clothes yet. Oh, and the joke with the death monologue, for all you non-Shakespeare fanatics, is this: characters in Shakespearian plays have the tendency to be mortally wounded and then go on for over a page about how they're dying and oh, the pain and isn't this horrible and such.** By the way, if anyone wants to do fan art of what Noa looked like in his various outfits in this chapter or how Kaiba looks as a cat or has any ideas about things that could occur in this fic, I'll welcome them with open arms! Fanart will receive great appreciation, ideas will be considered for actual use in the fic. I'm not gonna say I'll _definitely_ use your idea, but it might spark off an idea of my own which will cause me to update faster**! Oh, and anyone who gets the joke hidden in Noa's 'computer error' message gets pixie stix and bonus points!** Remember, reviews are good. They boost my confidence and guilt me into updating faster!


	7. Tea vs Atemu

Note: (figure in white hooded monk's robe and large white cape peeks around doorframe. Figure's face is entirely hidden by hood. Looks back and forth several times. Draws back left sleeve to reveal silver bracelet-thing and pushes the large, pushable red button on it. Glowy bubble pops into life around figure. Sleeve is pushed back down. Figure tiptoes into room veeeeeery carefully-) (muse enters)

Muse: Trickster? What's up with all the sneaking around?

Figure (now revealed to be Tie-dyed Trickster): (yelps, jumps six feet in the air, spins around, and lands on feet) Are you _trying_ to get me killed?

(undead muse pops up)

Undead muse: Did somebody say 'killed'? Who's getting killed? Can I help? Can I do their nails first? 'cause I just got this new nail polish and it's-

Trickster: Yes, no, no, and no! Go away!

Undead muse: But-

Trickster: SYMBOLS!

(Symbols wanders in)

Symbols? (translation – 'sup?)

Trickster: (points at undead muse)

Symbols,, (! (translation – (rolls eyes) (growl!)

Undead muse: Aw, man, why'd you have to call her?

Symbols: -.-? D ! (translation – I she serious? (GROWL!))

Undead muse: (starts to back away slowly, then turns and flees.) (yelling over shoulder) She is so _totally_ creepy!

Symbols: -.-! ? (translation – idiot. Can I go now?)

Trickster: Sure, thanks. (turns to original muse) Well, now my cover is totally blown, thank-you very much!

Muse: Dude, you were running around in all white. You were easy to see.

Trickster: BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS _ME_!

Muse: (raises eyebrow)

Trickster: (half-mumbling) Well, they might not have guessed it… Anyway. Sorry, everyone, for not updating for so long! I started college in August and the settling in process is taking forever. I mean, I'm used to it now and really like it here, but I also need to concentrate on my school work and stuff. Plus I've got writer's block something awful… Anyway, this AN is getting too long (even for me) so I'm going to start the story now… Oh, wait! No I'm not, I have one more thing to say before I start! **Congratulations to Jenivi7, as she's the only one who recognized Noa's computer error message reference in the last chapter! So to her go the pixie stix and many, many bonus points! YAY!**

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Disclaimer: I own Yugioh. Yes, that's right, you read correctly, _I own Yugioh_!!!! It's mine, you hear me?!? MINE!!!!!! ALL MINE!!!!!! Mwahahaha! AHHAHAHAHAHA!!!! (gets dragged off by muses) (muse) Ignore the previous disclaimer. Trickster doesn't own Yugioh, she's just daydreaming out-loud again.

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Kaiba was perched on the arm of a chair in Tea's living room and, to his great surprise, enjoying himself immensely. _Not_ that he would ever admit this to anyone-

"PREPARE TO MEET ECTOPLASMIC DEATH!"

"AH! WHERE'S THE 'RETREAT' BUTTON!?!"

"_There ISN'T a retreat button, Atemu!"_

(blaster fire, and some very… _squishy_ sounds)

"Got you!"

Kaiba smirked to himself. _Take THAT, 'pharaoh'! Ha, to think I wasted all that time trying to out-duel you, when all I needed to do was challenge you to a few video games!_ He stretched and moved into a more comfortable position, unconsciously re-angling his ears so he could hear the scene taking place before him slightly better.

Atemu was looking from the controller in his hands to the screen and back again with a confused expression on his face.

"_THAT, oh grand and mighty pharaoh, was pathetic."_ Bakura sauntered over to where Yugi was sitting and plopped down beside him.

Atemu glared at him. "Just because you've been possessed by Zorc for the past few millennia and continue existence as Spirit of the Millennium Ring doesn't mean you can take the same liberties with me that he did."

Bakura shuddered._ "Don't _say_ that name, please! I have enough reminders that I've spent most of my existence as a mind-controlled pawn without your help!!"_

"_Don't worry, Bakura, we understand."_ Yugi assured him. _"It's just we've spent the past few years knowing a very different you. It's a little hard to adjust to."_

"_Yes."_ Bakura nodded, looking around the living room, at all the people in it._ "All this is hard for me to adjust to as well. Times have changed greatly since last I was aware of my surroundings, life has become different."_ He smirked, the familiar expression making him look very much like the evil demon they had all been fighting so long. _"Being in an entirely new culture does not help."_

Yugi nodded sympathetically.

Joey, who'd been watching the battle between Atemu and Tea (or possibly between Atemu and his games controller – he was having a hard time figuring it out), yawned and stretched. "Man, I need to get going, guys. Homework and all that." Serenity got up from where she'd been chatting with Duke and Tristan. Joey glared balefully at them. "Either of you two slime-balls try ta slip 'er yer phone numbas again and the results will not be positive!" Tristan hastily shoved the hand he had been about to offer to Serenity back in his pocket before pulling it back out and shaking her hand goodbye. Duke just ran a hand through his hair and smiled at her.

"Come over to my shop some weekend while you're visiting – I'm sure the Dungeon Dice Monsters fan club would like to meet you." Duke smirked. "As a matter of fact, the offer extends to you as well, Joey. One of the guys – Peter – is actually really keen on meeting you."

This threw Joey off for a moment. "He is?"

"Yep. He's mainly into Dice Monsters, but his older sister is a big-time Duel Monsters fan, and some of it rubbed off on Peter. He likes your style." Duke shrugged. "Both of you come sometime, we usually have a meeting or mini-contest Saturday afternoons."

"Wellll…" Joey hesitated. On the one hand, one of the kids was apparently a fan of his, and he rarely got to see his fans, unlike Yugi and Atemu, because he didn't have as many. On the other hand, the last time he'd gone to Duke's place, he'd ended up in a dog costume…

"That'd be fun." Serenity smiled. "I'd love to come sometime!"

"Great!" Duke blushed a bit, then looked at Joey out of the corner of his eye. "If you came with her, you'd also be able to make sure I didn't do anything unsuitable to her."

That did it. Joey's imagination sprang to fill in possible scenarios that could occur if Serenity went to Duke's store without her older brother to keep her safe. "Sure, I'll go too, if Serenity goes."

"Great." Duke repeated. "I'll look forward to seeing you guys."

Joey nodded stiffly, distinctly aware that he'd just been maneuvered into accepting Duke's invitation. Serenity gathered up her belongings, and Kaiba stretched and hopped off the arm of the chair he'd been perched on. Much as he disliked having to go back to the Wheeler residence, it would probably be far worse to get left behind at friendship girl's house.

Yeah, that's all for now. Sorry it's such a short chapter, but I'm really stuck and I wanted to get _something_ up, just to show you I haven't abandoned this fic, and I feel really bad about not being able to give you all more. **I have really bad writer's block at the moment and, while I have some ideas for later scenes and a rough idea of how this is going to end, for the main part I don't know what to do next! I need the help of everyone and anyone out there who's reading this – please, if you have any ideas for what could happen in this fic, send them to me! (can't guarantee I'll use them but you might spark an idea that I do use, and, either way, I'll be updating faster, so everyone's happy!) If you want to more of this fic in the near future, I need you're ideas!** And if you don't have any ideas, send a review, because positive reinforcement is also a wonderful way to encourage my muses to do their jobs more often! Hope you liked this chapter, sorry it was so short!


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